1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an instrument in the form of an angle piece for dental or surgical use, comprising a head part, an elbow part, and a handle, and having improved collapsibility.
2. Description of the Related Art
An angle piece of this kind can be disassembled by loosening screws or the like, which method has been generally successfully used in the past.
However, in the course of more stringent hygiene regulations, and primarily in regard to angle pieces for surgical use which are employed in invasive surgery, it is now required to perform such a disassembly of an angle piece much more often than was conventionally done only a few years ago. This has the consequence that the disassembly process is considered to be cumbersome, and, therefore, there is a need for simplifying this process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an angle piece of the aforementioned kind which fulfills these requirements.
In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved in that in the elbow part a cage is provided which can be axially moved between two positions, wherein one position is a locking position and the other is a release position, wherein at least one locking element is radially moveably supported in the cage which, as a function of the cage position, is in an inner or an outer position, and that in the elbow part at least one elongate actuating member is substantially axially slidably supported which with one end cooperates with the cage and with the other end with an actuating surface of the handle.
With the solution according to the invention, the angle piece can be disassembled in a simple manner into its three main components without requiring a tool or a complex procedure.
According to a first embodiment of the invention, the elongate actuation member is a pull rod and the actuation surface in the handle is a part of a rotatable catch element. The disassembly can be realized and the angle piece collapsed, for example, by rotating the handle relative to the elbow part.
According to a second embodiment of the invention the elongate actuating member is a push rod and the actuating surface of the handle is an end face of the handle. According to this embodiment, the handle can be designed especially compact and simple; the connection between the handle and the elbow part can be realized by means of any conventional connection known in the field of angle piece construction. The connection between the elbow part and handle can be realized by conventional snap-on technology, by means of a bayonet closure, by threadable coupling sleeves and the like.